US East Coast 2018: Sun, Sand & the Deep Sea

The Tampa Bay area lies in the west coast of Florida near the Gulf of Mexico. It was in this vicinity that we settled for one week, at the lovely beach town of Madeira Beach. Dubbed "Mad Beach" by the locals, it was great time for us to hang out with Sue's sisters and parents, who joined us for this leg of the trip. We enjoyed the entertainment district of John's Pass, a charming and quaint area with a laid-back feel and which boasts of delicious seafood.

Another place of interest is the Seaside Bird Sanctuary, which is a non-profit organisation that takes care of injured wild birds. The Sanctuary houses a hospital which handles emergency medical cases. Its aim is to rehabilitate the injured birds and eventually release them into the wild. Sadly, a number of these birds are no longer able to care for themselves in the wild, and they are then provided for by the facility on a permanent basis. Among the animals we saw were vultures, owls, herons and pelicans.

But what we enjoyed was to walk along the beach where we were joined by numerous wild birds enjoying their evening meal - birds such as great blue herons, sandpipers, snowy egrets and more. Our littler one even managed to spot a blue crab which did seem like a possible candidate for our dinner!

One of the highlights of our trip was Tarpon Springs. It was a cultural experience for us at the historic city, which has the highest percentage of Greek Americans in all of the US, and is also famous for being the top producer of sponges in the world.

Sponges? We realised that what we use in the bathroom or in the kitchen are actually creatures that feed on plankton and other micro-organisms. And there are thousands of natural species in the wild! Sadly most households use synthetic sponges these days, but their natural counterparts have to be harvested and treated in order to be used in the homes. One natural sponge can last from to 8-10 years!

During our visit, we got to witness the first step of the harvesting process and to follow a diver on his boat as he donned his 180-pound (80 kilogramme) suit and plunged into the water. After a few minutes of searching, he found a sponge and raised it into the air triumphantly, to the thunderous round of applause of all of us in the diving boat.

In all it was truly an eye-opening experience with both boys transfixed on the process from beginning to end. What a lovely outing for us all!

The Pinellas County Heritage Village in Largos is an amazing place where many traditional buildings were physically transported from their original locations and put together into a major heritage site. We were amazed as we walked into the various buildings which chronicled what it was like to live in Florida in the 1900s. Places like the general store, old schoolhouse, barn, grandstand etc were truly a sight to behold; especially as every one of these buildings has such a rich history and a story to tell...

The Previous Page - One Enchanted Garden. Sarasota's Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Read here.

The Next Page: Where Children Learn Through Play. Glazer Children's Museum. Read here.

From the Beginning - Start reading the record pages of our US East Coast Travel Adventure here.

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Malacca with the Kids: March 2015

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